My thanks to Al Jazeera for it excellent reporting on the North Korean Mouse (Mouth?) that roared. I find this story and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong un bordering on near comedy. This in view of the fact that during my military career, I served a tour in South Korea (1963-64) when North Korea was ruled by the grandfather, Kim il Sung. And believe me, the grandson cannot hold a candle to the grandfather. Check out the article and video at the link cited below:
In an effort to demonstrate his leadership this young man just might launch one of his missiles on some U.S. facility in the Pacific. In such a consideration the question becomes whether or not Kim and his military command are “rational” actors. And here the term “rational” does not have anything to do with mental state. The term refers to the extent to which an actor considers and measures costs versus benefits of a given action, that is; would a missile strike against some U.S. facility result in some greater benefit over the cost of such a venture. And how great is the margin of one over the other, the spread between the two notwithstanding. The greater the spread, the greater likelihood that the actor will act. After reading the story at the above cited link, consider whether or not North Korea is rational.
